InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Escape ❯ Assault ( Chapter 20 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. You guys should know this by now.

AN: Sorry for the late update guys. But I'm finally almost done with school. Just two days left before we are able to leave (unofficially might I add) and two days before prom!!! ^-^ I can't wait! And I'm oh so happy that finals are done and my AP exams and done and finished with, so now, I can focus on my work once more, which means more frequent updates for you guys.

I just want to thank those who have stayed with this fic so far and frown upon those who have constantly rushed me these past couple of weeks. It really isn't that serious and some people do have lives. To the rest who have patiently, more or less, been waiting for the next installation of Escape, here it is. So enjoy.

Oh, and to those that are curious to when this fic will be over with, I plan on ending this with five or six more chapters, excluding the epilogue if I feel like making one. And I also want to thank all of those that take time out of their busy schedules to read and review on my fic. Special shout out to all my loyal reviewers. I wish I could take time out to respond to each of your reviews but I have to finish my portfolio by tomorrow. You all make my day. ::throws out chocolate and jolly ranchers to audience::

Special thanks to:

Yuna141: Thank you so much for insightful remarks regarding the first couple of chapters. I plan on revising this entire fic within these next couple of weeks anyway. They are badly in need of retuning and I intend on making them better than before since I have gained some writing skills over the past couple of months. I'd really appreciate it that after I'm done making all of my final revisions if you'd just glance over it to make sure its alright. I need ever bit of constructive criticism I can get. Thanks again for the feedback and I'm glad you like the story.

Lighfromtheshadows: I'm glad my fic has caught your attention and what? You think I'm talented? ::blushes appreciatively:: Thanks for the love.

Blunt: Thanks for reviewing on my first couple of chapters because I know that they need mucho work done to them. I haven't had time to revise them all and plan to do so in the near future. Thanks for you insight.

Assault

"What did one sagging boob say to the other sagging boob?"

Kagome suspended a groan of exasperation. Ten hours, twenty two minutes and thirty three seconds and he was still going on with his corny jokes. Maybe she should have rode with Inuyasha. At least the deafening silence would've been better than Miroku's inane chatter.

"They said 'if we don't get some support soon, people will think we're nuts'," Miroku continued grinning, completely absorbed in his own world and ignorant to the fact that nobody was paying the slightest bit of attention to him. At least he thought he was funny.

"Houshi, I don't think anybody cares what boobs tell each other," Sango remarked dryly from the back seat.

Shippou snored softly from the warm and soft confines of Kagome's stomach, unaware of any outside activity from beyond her shirt.

Kirara too had fallen asleep in Sango's lap. The monotony and tedium of the extended road trip proving to be too uninteresting to keep the attention of the neko youkai.

"You don't like it?" The monk's brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to summon yet another lame joke from his memory bank. His eyes lit up in enthusiasm as he thought of a couple that were bound to bring about some laughter. "Wait, I have better ones."

Kagome didn't bother withholding a groan this time. She just couldn't take it anymore. Enough was enough. One person could only take so much torture. "Miroku, just turn on the radio. We're tired of your corny attempts to make us laugh. "

"I just get static on the radio. My form of entertainment is much more satisfying and enjoyable than the same old music playing over and over again."

"Much like your droning over and over again," Sango muttered shifting her gaze to the aesthetic countryside outside of the window.

"Listen to this: A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his trench coat and flashed her. Without missing a beat...she said, "Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub."

Miroku grinned ear to ear upon hearing the light chuckles of his small audience. "Wait, I have more. A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads 'Low bridge ahead! ' Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck, huh?" The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge
and ran out of gas."

The chorus of giggles further inciting his desire to please them with his comical tales, he continued. "Ok, here's the last one. This is the teacher smart ass answer of the year: A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam. "Now class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury or illness, or a death in your immediate family but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!" A smart-ass guy in the back of the room raised his hand and
asks, "What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?" The entire class does its best to stifle their laughter and snickering. When silence is restored, the teacher smiles sympathetically at the student, shakes her head, and sweetly says, Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam with your other hand."

By now, both Sango and Kagome, unable to hold back any longer, were clutching their stomachs, cackling with laughter, tears of hilarity trickling down their cheeks. Bout Kirara and Shippou, who had tried fruitlessly to block out the boisterousness of the occupants of the car, had resorted to sleeping on the floor in an effort to get some sleep. Miroku grinned proudly as they doubled over with giggles. Mission accomplished. He knew those little smart ass answers would do the trick. Now for the goods.

Still laughing, Kagome failed to notice a hand casually come into contact with her back, until that hand slowly began to make a downward descent en route for her rear end. The miko froze when she felt the soft caresses on her butt of the man beside of her, her giggles abruptly subsiding. But before she could bestow her annoyance and mild anger upon the unsuspecting monk, a pair of hands from the backseat of the car snatched his hand and jerked it away from Kagome hurriedly.

"Houshi-sama," Sango said through gritted through her teeth as she bent the fingers on his hand back, dark anger flashing within her brown orbs, "what have I told you about keeping your hands to yourself?"

The car veered dangerously onto the shoulder as Miroku yelped, flinching in pain as she twisted his fingers back even more all the while trying to keep his precious vehicle centered in one lane. "Gomen, my dearest Sango. This unworthy one wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to offend you by my behavior and if it makes you feel any better, I would gladly renounce my acts of lechery upon other females and reserve them solely for you if you were to consider me as a potential boyfriend."

"You can't talk your way out of…" Sango trailed off, a deep blush colored her cheeks as she caught on to what he was proposing. 'Did he just ask me out?' she thought incredulously. 'Or am I hearing things?'

Kagome, whose anger toward the lecherous monk was long since forgotten after hearing him ask Sango out, cleared her throat and gave her friend an expectant glance, silently urging the taijiya to reply.

The blush deepened. "Um…I…you…um…" Sango fumbled with her words, unsure of how to answer his suggestion that they hook up.

"She says yes," Kagome answered for her friend upon seeing that she was at a lost for words and apparently coherency.

Miroku, who had been slouching in his seat, anticipating that she would harshly decline like she had so many times before, immediately came to attention as best he could with his hand twisted in the tight restraint of the woman he had come to adore and worship over the years, his violet eyes lighting up like a child on Christmas day. "Really Sango? You'll go out with me?" he asked, merriment obvious in his tone as he turned around to get a better view of her, ignoring his throbbing fingers and wrist.

"Miroku!" Kagome shouted taking hold of the wheel from his slack clasp before the vehicle ended up in a ditch thanks to the monk who had virtually forgotten who was driving the car in his excitement.

Noticing that she was still holding his hand, Sango released his fingers sheepishly and looked at her lap, unable to meet his gaze. Butterflies flapped wildly in her stomach as her entire face turned an amusing shade of crimson. She mumbled something incoherent.

Turning around all the way in the in his seat so that he faced her completely, Miroku, who had totally disregarded all thoughts of driving his vehicle much to the displeasure of Kagome, reached back and with one hooked finger under her chin, slowly tilted her face upward so that hesitant brown eyes met hopeful purple eyes. "Will you make me the happiest man alive and go out with me? I promise to you as Kami-sama as my witness that I would be loyal and dedicated to you and only you. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on and I would be honored to be your boyfriend." With his eyes telling nothing but the truth and never leaving her face, the monk gathered her delicate hands in his and placed a gentle kiss on each of her knuckles, leaving Sango even more flustered and flushed, if that were possible, than before.

Sango gulped nervously, feeling the beating of her heart hammering passionately in her chest, as if urging her to do the right thing. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. And she definitely, without a doubt, knew what was the right thing. "Miroku, I would be flattered to be your girlfriend."

His eyes brightened considerably and his keen smile stretching into a wide grin. She had said yes to be his girlfriend and had said his name for the first time without any of the honorifics. This was the greatest day of his life. He felt his heart soar to innumerable heights. "Sango my love, you don't know how happy you've made this humble monk. I promise you that I will be the finest boyfriend you've ever had. I will treat you like the queen that you are. I will never look at another female the way I do you as long as I live. I will-"

"Take the wheel back before we all die!" Kagome screeched as the steering wheel slipped out of her hand. Miroku snapped back around with lightning speed and took control of the skidding car as it began to veer off of the highway into the grassy fields. With one fluid wrench, he straightened the car with practiced precision and unhurriedly assumed their previous lane on the highway as though nothing had happened.

Kagome let out a breath she had been involuntarily holding and turned to glare at the monk now that the scary part was over. "You idiot! Next time you want to admit your love to Sango, pull over and do it! You could've killed us with your recklessness!"

Miroku offered a sheepish grin. "Kagome-sama, you know I would've never endangered the life of my friends. I knew exactly what I was doing. I am a trained professional-"

"Idiot," the taijiya finished for him, her cheeks still glowing from his proposal.

Kagome scowled. "If you weren't Sango's boyfriend-" But the ringing of a cell phone cut off her next words. Somewhat annoyed that she wasn't able to finish her lecture, Kagome rummaged in her bag for her phone and pulled it out. "Yes Inu-"

"What the hell is wrong with that idiot! Is he purposely trying to get all of your asses killed with his fucking negligence!"

Kagome winced at the barrage of angry protestations in regards to the monk's driving skills…or lack thereof. "Inuyasha calm down," she began cutting through his furious words, "we are all fine and Miroku did a exceptional job getting the car back under control. Everything is fine now."

"The hell it is," he retorted, but the anger that had once emboldened the timbre of his voice now reduced to mild annoyance after hearing her assurance. "Tell that moron to take the next exit. We're going to switch drivers and get something to eat. When we pull over, remind me to kick the crap out of the bouzu."

By the time Kagome finished reassuring Inuyasha that Miroku didn't need to be reprimanded for his careless actions, they had arrived at their destination, which was conveniently stationed near multiple fast food restaurants, gas stations and rest areas for those who needed to catch up on their sleep or utilize the restroom facilities.

Yawning, Shippou slowly returned to consciousness, his back arching as he stretched to get all of the kinks that had formed from sleeping on the floor. "Are we there yet?"

"Not even half way." Kagome drew the drowsy kitsune into her arms, a smile gracing her features. "We're just stopping to get something to eat."

His pointed ears twitched at the mention of food. Grinning broadly, Shippou immediately snapped out of his drowsy state and assumed one of enthusiasm. Eating was one his favorite hobbies. "Lets go!" He scurried out of the window before anyone else had a chance to open their doors.

"Oi brat, act like you have some damn sense and stop embarrassing us in public," Inuyasha growled at the prancing the kitsune, who was eagerly looking around at the chain of restaurants in the area in an attempt to make up his mind on what kind of food he wanted.

"Leave him alone Inuyasha. He's only a baby," Kagome said smiling softly at him.

The hanyou's heart skipped a beat, the way her full, pouty lips curled up at the corners in that beautiful smile that was always gracing her face making his insides turn to goo. Inuyasha kehed and quickly turned away from her, effectively hiding the flush that had risen to his cheeks in response to her friendly gesture.

"Come Inuyasha," Kikyo suddenly said abruptly as she walked off in the direction of the McDonalds, showing no outward sign that she had witnessed the reddening of his face. "I wish to replenish my energy before we continue this journey any further."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it when she shot him a frosty stare, as if daring him to deny her request, or rather command. Clenching his jaw, Inuyasha reluctantly followed the miko toward the fast food restaurant, his ears drooping slightly in resignation. He couldn't object to such a simple demand, not when he had caused her so much pain and had broke all of his promises of protection. Too ashamed to glance back at his Kagome, he continued after his child hood friend somewhat sullenly.

"Wow, she really has him on a short leash," Sango muttered under her breath.

"Oi! I heard that!" he snapped from the distance, throwing the taijiya an irritated glare.

Miroku smirked, but didn't comment further. "So, shall we join them for a bite to eat at the home of the Big Macs? Or shall we venture off on our own and eat elsewhere?"

"I don't want McDonalds. I want a Whopper," Shippou declared pointing across the street. "And I don't want to eat with her. She smells funny." He wrinkled his noise, the scent of soil still lingering in the air after the cold miko.

"Shippou, it isn't nice to say people stink," Kagome chided lightly, though a small smile danced at the corners of her lips.

The tiny kitsune shrugged indifferently. "Well she does."

Thirty minutes later, everyone returned to the cars, full of greasy, calorie filled burgers and salt laden fries that was bound to give them stomach and indigestion problems in the near future.

"It took you idiots long enough," Inuyasha grumbled as their group approached the parked vehicles, his usual scowl in place on his face.

Kikyo ignored them and continued to stare off into the difference, her mind on other things. "We need to leave now. The more time we waste here with your inane chatter, the less of a chance we have of catching Naraku." Her statement was directed toward the hanyou more than anyone else.

Sango resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but agreed nevertheless. "She's right. Inuyasha, are you still up for driving another 8 hours?"

"Keh. I don't need as much rest as you wimpy humans," he responded with a smirk.

"Ok then, since Miroku's in need of a nap, I'll take over and we'll just keep rotating drivers. Kagome, do you have the map?"

"Right here." She took out a map from her back pocket and spread it out on the monk's Lancer Evolution. "Presently, we are about 100 miles away from the state line crossing into Indiana. So the next rotation of drivers should occur a couple of miles before we enter Missouri." Following the distribution of the driving schedule for the duration of the trip, everyone climbed into their assigned vehicles.

Inuyasha felt his heart sink as Kagome got into Miroku's car without a second glance his way. He tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. Ever since Kikyo had come into his life, he had felt torn between the blossoming affection that had unexpectedly sprouted for Kagome, and the guilt he felt for letting the other miko in his life down in more ways than one. He had thought that this trip would bring Kagome and him closer, but why did he get the feeling that it was doing more harm than helping?

*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Kagome stared at the passing scenery with her head lolled back on the window in the back seat. It had been three days. Three days, two showers, and one seemingly endless expedition across the great expanse of the U.S. They were almost to their destination. There was only six more hours left and then they would finally be in L.A. She was getting tired of stopping at motels only to take a shower, nap, then leave. She felt dirty, and surprisingly tired even though she had slept two thirds of the way, driving simply two shifts.

Sango pulled up into the rest stop, the Skyline on their tails. Kagome sighed. And now, it was her turn yet again to drive, only this time she wouldn't be driving the Lancer, but her hanyou's prized possession due to the fact that she was the only one who could operate with smooth proficiency a manual transmission vehicle thanks to Charlie. Inuyasha had driven all the way from Baltimore, nonstop, claiming that he didn't need sleep unlike them. But as the days drew on, they could see that he was wearing down, mentally and physically. And so, it was up to Kagome to drive his Skyline the last stretch to California while he rested, which meant being under the same roof as his former love. Wonderful.

"You ok Kagome?" Sango asked as she stretched after putting the car into park and seeing the anxiety flit across her friend's face.

Kagome reassured her a half hearted smile. "I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff, that's all."

"Well, you won't have the opportunity to think in a while seeing as though Inuyasha snores like an elephant with a cold when he's knocked out," Sango snickered.

"Oh what a ball of fun I shall have," Kagome responded dryly opening the passenger door. "Take care of Miroku while I'm gone," she said sparing a glance to the sleeping monk in the back seat with the kitsune and neko youkai on his lap before departing.

Her brown eyes softened as she followed her friend's gaze. "I will."

After saying a final good bye to the taijiya, Kagome slowly made her way over to the Skyline as Inuyasha stood up to get out.

He yawned, cracking his knuckles and neck muscles to get the kinks out before lazily cocking one eye in the direction of the approaching miko. "Oi wench, just get in. I can handle six more hours of driving."

She rolled her eyes. "Inuyasha, you've been driving for three days straight without any sleep whatsoever. I think you deserve this little nap."

"Keh, woman. I don't need sleep. Sleep is for the weak."

Taking advantage of their now close proximity, Kagome reached up and cupped a somewhat startled hanyou's face in her hands, then brought it down so that they were face to face. Kagome peered with scrutiny into his eyes, hidden fatigue and drowsiness swam in his golden depths. "You don't have to put up that tough façade with me Inuyasha," she said softly so that only his sensitive hearing could pick up. "I know you're tired, so why don't you go unwind and take a quick nap while I drive the rest of the way. You'll need your strength for when we go up against Naraku. You're of no use to us tired and half asleep."

His eyelids drooped heavily as he dropped his defensive stance. The hands that cradled his face gently providing him with a sense of comfort and warmth that up until now he had greatly missed. "Since you won't stop nagging me about it, I guess I'll take a short nap," he scoffed softly.

"Good. Now go to sleep and leave the driving to me." She gave him a chaste kiss on the nose and skirted around him to the driver's side, oblivious that she had made color rise onto the hanyou's cheeks.

Upon settling into the driver's seat, Kagome strapped in, adjusted her seat and all of the mirrors, started the engine, and sent a silent thank you to Kami for letting Kikyo be asleep in the backseat. There was no way she wanted to drive on the road with his ex girlfriend boring holes in the back of her skull. 'I wonder how he put up with the suffocating silence,' she mused with mild amusement, a small smile playing on her lips at the image it invoked in her mind.

"Keh. What are you smiling at?" he asked gruffly upon entering the vehicle and buckling up.

"Nothing Inuyasha. Nothing at all."

He stared at her with obvious doubt, but decided to comment further on the trivial issue and settled back comfortably in the seat, mumbling something about stupid humans as he shut his eyes.

Smiling secretly to herself, Kagome put the car to drive and signaled a now awake Miroku with her blinkers, indicating that that they were set and ready to take off. Without further ado, the Lancer Evolution sped out of the rest area, the red Skyline following closely behind. Kagome switched gears to fourth as they merged onto the highway. 'No wonder Inuyasha likes this car so much. It's such a smooth ride,' she grinned to herself switching to fifth and went around Miroku, whose dawdling speed was like they were on their way to a Sunday picnic instead of heading toward the carnage and chaos that Naraku seemed to be shrouded in.

'Doesn't have bad acceleration either.' She easily blocked off the monk's meager attempts to bypass her, much to the dismay of other commuters, who honked angrily when their antics almost caused them to swerve off the road due to the aggressiveness and ferocity of their almost manic like driving.

"Stop playing with damn my car wench," the hanyou murmured in his sleep.

Kagome rolled her eyes. Demanding when he was awake. Demanding when he was sleep. He was absolutely no fun. Reluctantly decelerating, Kagome contented herself with rolling down the window and turning up the music to drown out the repetitive hum of the engine. It was going to be a long six hours.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Nothing interesting happened during the course of Kagome's shift, save for the man who got chased by a deer while trying to urinate in the woods and came out running, his male equipment still in hand. She chuckled at the thought, recalling how he jumped into his car scared out of his wits as she had passed him by. She had looked in her rearview mirror and seen the deer had still been bucking at his car. Now that had been funny. No way she was going to forget that any time soon.

One hour had passed, then two, then three, then four, then finally five. And it was weird, because every mile they drew nearer to L.A., tingles began racing up and down her skin in an excited flurry, teasing her miko senses and inciting a sort of yearning within her. It was almost as if something were calling her. Perhaps that's what her grandmother had been talking about.

"My essence that surrounds the house will lead you directly to it. You won't need a map."

'I can actually feel that we're getting closer to her house.' She bit back a grin, her eyes barely concealing the excitement she felt. She couldn't wait to see what awaited her at her grandmother's place. A connection to her past confirmed that she wasn't alone in life. The loneliness she had felt after the passing of her family had engulfed her, even after Hojo had come along, and still when she moved in with her foster family. There was that lingering isolation that always settled in a haze over her soul, prohibiting her from effectively putting an end to her sorrow and moving on with life.

Her friends and her foster sister were a constant source of temporary happiness and for fleeting moments, she actually believed was living a life of complete normalcy, but whenever she came home to her overbearing foster parents and her little room, a sense of claustrophobia and depression would overtake her. But that all changed once Inuyasha entered her life.

She glanced over at the sleeping hanyou, whose light snoring was nothing like Sango had made it out to be. A smile graced her features as she looked at him through her peripheral vision. Wind streamed in from his partially rolled down window, ruffling his beautiful white mane of hair so that it fanned out in a silk curtain about his face, subsequently amplifying his angelic like features and a sense of vulnerability that were only revealed when he slept. With his cheek resting languidly on his hand as he rested against the door of the car, he almost looked like a sleeping child, full of contentedness and peace without a care in the world.

She blushed and quickly returned her eyes to the road upon realizing that she had been staring entirely too long, but she still couldn't help but smile. Meeting him and the others was the best thing that had happened in her life since the murder of her family. She was so blessed to have them, especially Inuyasha, who she had long since forgiven for leaving her multiple times for the sake of Kikyo. There was no point dwelling in the past. And maybe, once Naraku was subdued and her family was avenged, would she attempt to tell Inuyasha of how she really felt about him.

Kagome sneaked another peek at him. She couldn't help it. He was just too adorable. His snow white ears twitched, soon after followed by the twitching of his nose. Suddenly, his eyes snapped as if someone had doused him with a cold bucket of water, his golden eyes narrowed to slits, his fangs beginning to emerge from his mouth in a threatening manner. "We have company," he growled spinning around in his seat so rapidly it gave Kagome whiplash to stare out of the window.

Suppressing her arising panic, Kagome glanced out of rearview mirror, and sure in enough in the distance, were some kind of winged beasts flying overhead and gaining on them by the second. Had Naraku sent them? Or maybe they were just going about their own business and had nothing to do with the dark hanyou. "Maybe they weren't sent to kill us and are peaceful, law abiding citizens."

The leading bird like beast opened its mouth and unleashed a vortex of wind from its massive jaws, aimed at the cars behind them. The howling currents of air came crashing down on the vehicles to the rear of the Skyline, sending countless automobiles flying into each other or totally wiping them off of the road and into the forest that lined the highway so that only their car and Miroku's Lancer were left, save for those ahead of them who had smartly sped up upon seeing the onslaught of twisted metal that the bird beasts had left in their wake.

"Peaceful law abiding citizens huh?" Inuyasha snorted unbuckling his seatbelt and snatching Tetsusaiga from its resting place below the dashboard in front of him .

"Wait Inuyasha!" she yelled as he began climbing out of the sun roof and onto the top of the car. "Let me help!"

"No! Stay and drive the car wench! This won't be long." Then he disappeared above, leaving her in a frustrated state of annoyance, due much in part to the fact that she would be left out of all of the action. She pouted when Miroku, with Sango now at the wheel again, climbed out of his sunroof as well and began unraveling the prayer beads that bound the cloth over his kazaana.

Inuyasha grinned darkly as he brandished his fang, anticipation gleaming in his eyes as he kept his equilibrium with disturbing ease while traveling atop of the speeding vehicle. Now this was more like it. It was about time something interesting happened. He was getting tired of sitting on his ass doing absolutely nothing. "I suggest you leave now or forever hold your peace." He smirked in satisfaction when none heeded his warning and instead, opened their mouths, readying themselves for the finishing onslaught as an upsurge of wind began to form in their gaping jaws. "Your funeral."

With the Tetsusaiga pulsing fervently in both hands, Inuyasha raised the enlarged blade over his head and brought it down with a force, the thrashing winds on either side of him apparently having no effect on his stance and precision of his attack. "Cutting Wind!" The formidable arcs of energy sliced through a good chunk of the pack of bird beasts before they could unleash a counter attack.

"Wind Tunnel!" The seemingly black hole that rested in the middle of the monk's palm began to suck in the remaining bird creatures as well as the pieces that were left lying discarded in the road from Inuyasha's previous assault.

Balancing the inflated fang on his shoulder, the hanyou stared in disdain at the remains of the birds as they were sucked into Miroku's kazaana. "Keh. That's it? I expected better from that stupid Naraku. This was just child's play. I didn't even have to break a sweat. What kind of work out was that? How am I suppose to prepare for that hanyou if I don't get any worthwhile practice?"

"Inuyasha, you should stop complaining and be thankful that there weren't any more to deal with. Let's just concentrate on getting to Midoriko's place in one peace shall we?" Miroku grinned as he bound his hand once again and slithered back into his sunroof with little difficulty.

"What a waste of time," Inuyasha muttered steadying himself to hop right back into his seat, but immediately stopped himself, his nose twitching and wrinkling in disgust at the scent that was headed toward them.

Kagome stiffened upon glancing in her rearview mirror. This wasn't good at all. "Umm…Inuyasha?"

"I know," he growled turning around and taking Tetsusaiga out of its sheath once more to face the menace that were coming straight at them. Shadows fell across the land they traveled through. The cloudless blue sky darkened considerably with the arrival of hundreds of oni of every size and shape imaginable. The flying expanse of their bodies littered the sky and blocked out the warmth and rays of the sun.

Kagome instinctively began to slow down, her every intention being pulling over and aiding her friend in the elimination of their immense yet brainless foes.

"No, girl. You will keep driving. I will help the hanyou rid our trail of these disgusting beasts," Kikyo finally spoke up from the back seat.

Suppressing her quickly arising anger, Kagome gritted her teeth. Who was she to boss her around and tell her what to do? "I think that I would be better off helping Inuyasha fight with the aid of my miko powers than to sit here and drive the car. Why don't you come up and here and do it for me, then I'll be able to go."

"No wench! You keep driving and tell Kikyo to come up here with me! She's more useful to me and more powerful than you!" they heard Inuyasha yell from the roof.

Kagome didn't say anything as the other miko climbed out of the sunroof and joined her friend at the top. She didn't even wince at the way he had just demeaned her and made it sound as if he didn't want to be around her. She didn't even try to fight on her behalf and voice that she could do whatever Kikyo could do and could probably do it better. No. Kagome simply recovered the speed she had lost upon slowing down so that she was head to head with Sango once more, continued on to where she felt her grandmother's energy exuding in the distance and tried not to think about how utterly useless she was in comparison to the great Kikyo that Inuyasha was so bent on worshiping.

End.

Next chapter: Arrival: Arrival to Midoriko's place. Tension runs high amongst the love triangle. An unexpected visitor from the past. Kagome kidnapped?